


Adagio

by nubivagant729



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, also jade is an amazing singer so i had to put kady in a band, i have a thing for bars okay?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 10:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13761855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nubivagant729/pseuds/nubivagant729
Summary: "She didn’t notice the first time she saw her perform, she was too busy ogling at her beauty and grace. The second time she saw Vines on Walls, she noticed the small flash of silver on her ring finger and Julia felt her stomach drop."orKady is in a band and she's definitely married.Julia is so screwed.





	Adagio

Music had never been an instrumental (no pun intended) part of Julia’s life. She played the oboe in high school band and was damn good at it, but she really was in the class for the leadership positions. Drum major and section leader looked great on a college application, and anything else she learned in band, stayed in high school. Now, all Julia felt towards music was vague indifference. She liked to listen to it in the car or while she was doing mundane tasks, but she never followed any bands or artists with any enthusiasm until she discovered Vines on Walls. Vines on Walls was a basically unheard of and Julia thought they had a shitty name, and average music, but she wasn’t interested in them for notoriety, or the name, or the sound; she was in it for the lead singer. 

Quentin, Eliot and Margo loved to make fun of her “wittle cwush”, as they so condescendingly called it, but Julia wouldn’t deny her infatuation with the girl. All Julia knew about her was that her name was Kady, she had the voice of an angel, and that she was married. Most importantly, the last one, she was married. She didn’t notice the first time she saw her perform, she was too busy ogling at her beauty and grace. The second time she saw Vines on Walls, she noticed the small flash of silver on her ring finger and Julia felt her stomach drop. Seeing the band on her hand was the equivalent of being abruptly awakened from a fantastical dream.

Despite her disappointment, Julia had seen Vines on Walls four times since then. They performed at a bar near her apartment a couple times a month, and Quentin, Eliot and Margo were always willing to accompany her. Even though they picked on her relentlessly, Julia didn’t have the guts to sit at the bar alone and force herself to suffer, so like a true masochist, she forced herself to suffer in the company of others. 

Julia was drinking a jack and coke, listening to Vines on Walls do their soundcheck. Quentin and Eliot were being disgustingly flirty, and Margo was scoping the bar for whomever she was going to go to bed with tonight. This is how their bar trips always went. Julia would pine while the others actually went out and got themselves some real affection. Kady was standing center stage, picking at the strings on her acoustic guitar as she tuned it and every few seconds she would tap the mic and say a soft “check, check”. 

“Julia, you’re staring.” Quentin tapped her hand to snap her out of her state. 

Eliot leaned his shoulder into Quentin and sipped his drink. “God, this is getting pathetic.” He said to Quentin, as if Julia couldn’t hear him. “Just go talk to her for fucks sake.”

“She’s married.” Julia retorted.

“Who cares? Eliot home wrecked Quentin and Alice.” Margo interjected.

“Yeah, and now Alice refuses to speak to any of us.” Julia said. 

Eliot didn’t seem to be affected by Julia’s snarky comment. He took another shot and pointed at Julia with determination, “You’re going to be alone for the rest of your life if you keep waiting for someone to come sweep you off your feet. One day you are going to have to make a move.” Julia rolled her eyes and went to go get another drink from the bar. Eliot was right, of course, but Julia really didn’t have the balls to go openly hit on a married woman.

By the time Julia got back to the table, Vines on Walls had started playing. Julia rarely paid attention to the music, but she knew they mainly did covers. Every once in awhile, they would play an original piece, but most of the time they took requests from the audience. Julia watched intently as Kady sang some song she had never heard before. One thing Julia loved about Kady’s performances were her reactions to the songs. She was an expert at displaying the music’s emotions on her face. It was as if she could immerse herself in the songwriters psyche and perfectly mimic their feelings. There was something so ethereal about Kady’s presence and Julia loved to get lost in it. God, Eliot was right, this was getting pathetic.

“I think I’m going to go make a song request.” Eliot told them as the first song ended. Julia’s attention turned from Kady to Eliot, who was obviously up to something. She tried to call after him, but he was already snaking his way through the tables up to the stage. Kady leaned down to talk to him and when Eliot turned around, there was no mistake who he was pointing at. Julia watched as he turned back around and Kady mouthed, “Julia?”. Eliot nodded and turned to come back to their table. 

“What the fuck did you just say to her?” Julia said, feeling her body heat up with embarrassment. Kady did a quick strum of her guitar and Eliot smirked.

“Hello everyone, we’ve got a birthday in the audience. Happy birthday to Julia, everyone give her a round of applause.” Kady said as she pointed right at Julia. Their eyes locked for a moment and Julia wanted to throw up. “Here’s her song request.” She announced. Kady started singing “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette and Julia scoffed because Eliot hadn’t even had the courtesy to request a song she liked.

“Why did you do that? It’s not even my fucking birthday.” Julia grumbled.

Eliot was too smug. Julia wanted to slap him right across the face and then throw her drink at him. “Now she’s noticed you. You’re bound to hook up.”

 

The liquor had overcome Julia with vengeance and it had disoriented her to the point that she couldn’t tell if Kady was actually looking at her, or if it was all her imagination. Eliot and Quentin had been insistent that Kady was indeed, checking her out, but Julia was skeptical. Margo had left already with some guy so she couldn’t ask for her less biased opinion. Julia continued drinking in hopes that she could avoid all thoughts of Kady, but her deep, soulful voice was echoing through the whole bar and no amount of alcohol could make Julia deaf to that. Except it did and Julia totally missed it when the set ended and without any warning Kady was sitting right next to her with a smile on her face.

“Happy birthday.” She said. “Desmond, get her another drink, on me.” Kady said to the bartender. “I’ve seen you around before.” She said warmly.

Julia could barely contain her awkwardness. “I come to see you-I mean your band.” Julia blurted out. If she could slam her face into the bar without looking like a psychopath she would have.

“Well, thank you. I didn’t know we had actual fans.” Kady said. Her tone was one of self-deprecation and Julia felt bad knowing that she really didn’t care at all about Kady’s band. 

“So, uh, you live near here?” Kady asked. Julia might have been questioning Kady’s intentions before, but now it was plain as day that Kady was flirting with her and Julia felt overwhelmed. She had spent the last three months longing for this moment, knowing full well it would never come, but here she was.

“Yeah, um, my apartment is right around the corner.” Julia told her, alcohol clouding her brain.

“Why don’t you let me walk you home?” Kady asked. Julia should have said no without hesitation, if not because of the ring on her finger, because she was drunk, because she didn’t know her, because Quentin, Eliot and Margo would never let her live it down, but despite all that, Julia said yes and led Kady back to her apartment

Kady was gone without a trace when Julia woke up the next day. 

 

Julia had managed to hide what had happened from Quentin, Eliot and Margo. When they had asked where she’d gone to she told them she had drank too much and walked home. They scolded her for walking her “drunk ass” home alone, but it was worth it to avoid the shit show that would have occurred had they found out she slept with Kady. Julia barely remembered what had happened that night. They got back to her place and the last thing Julia really can recall clearly is Kady pulling her shirt off and pushing Julia down onto her bed. 

Julia thought that sleeping with Kady would allow her some relief from her crush, but it had only intensified it. She wished she could remember what had happened more clearly, but she knew it had been passionate and intense. And wrong on every level, because Kady was married. Julia could see Kady taking her ring off and leaving it on Julia’s counter before they went in the bedroom. Julia was officially a homewrecker, or whore, or whatever word could be used to describe someone who fucked another person's spouse. The guilt overwhelmed Julia. She quickly ripped her sheets off her bed and the clothes she had been wearing and put them into the washing machine. Julia wanted to scrub away every reminder of what she had done. It would be easy to blame Eliot for pushing her, or Kady for approaching her, but Julia had went with Kady on her own volition. She briefly thought of calling Alice, but it would be kind of fucked up for her to call her for advice on her philandering with a married woman. With no one she could talk to, Julia spent the whole day with a sinking feeling in her gut and the great weight of shame on her shoulders. 

 

Julia couldn’t come up with an excuse that would fool Quentin, Eliot and Margo, so that she wouldn’t have to go back to the bar Friday night. If she said she was sick, Quentin would come check on her. If she said she just didn’t want to, Eliot would come force her out. If she said she had work tomorrow, Margo would definitely call her bluff, so even though she would rather walk a mile barefoot, on hot coals, she went with them Friday night. She hit the bar hard right of the bat because she wouldn’t make it through this night sober. Vines on Walls had just started their soundcheck, but Julia refused to even look at the stage. She stared into her drink as if there were deep secrets in it that could only be revealed by an unrelenting gaze.

“Julia, you’re giving off some real serial-killer vibes right now.” Margo said. “Your girlfriend is on stage, perk up.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Damn, defensive much.” Eliot grabbed his drink and looked up to the stage. Julia couldn’t help but follow his eyes, and for the briefest of moments her and Kady locked eyes. Julia’s anxiety was evident as she averted her gaze quickly to Quentin.

Eliot and Margo had been her friends for a few years now, but Quentin had been there since she was a kid and the problem with that was Julia really couldn’t keep things from him. He didn’t speak, but Julia saw him look at Kady and then back at her with raised eyebrows. He took one more look at Kady and then the confusion left his face. She knew that he wouldn’t be able to understand the full extent of what happened, but he knew something had happened, and god bless him, he didn’t say a single word.

“If you aren’t going to fuck her, then at least fuck someone. I mean, when was the last time you got laid?” Margo pushed. 

“Probably not as long ago as you think.” She mumbled.

 

Julia had been trying to make excuses to leave all night, but Eliot had a solid grip on the situation, and unless Julia started puking, there was no way she was leaving. Margo was at the bar flirting with the girl who played bass for Vines on Walls and Quentin and Eliot were playing pool. Kady didn’t take her time approaching Julia.

“Hey.” She said calmly. Julia nearly spit out her drink when Kady sat next to her. 

“Uh, hi.” Julia said without looking at her. 

“How are you?”

“Fine.” Julia was trying to convey disinterest, but Kady was unrelenting.

“So, about the other night-”

“Listen, we don’t have to do this. It was a mistake, we were drunk.” Julia said. 

“Mistake? No, I had a good time. Didn’t you?” She asked. Julia was scanning the bar, trying to make sure Quentin, Eliot, and Margo weren’t watching. 

“I barely remember it. I’m sure it was great, but it was wrong.” Julia glanced down at her hand and Kady reflexively pulled it under the counter. She had finally caught on to what Julia was struggling with.

“Don’t worry about that.” Kady said. 

“So you are married? It’s not like you got a divorce and just don’t have the heart to take it off. You’re actually married?” Julia asked. Kady’s silence was enough of an answer. “I really am a homewrecker.” She laughed bitterly.

“Listen, I’m doing this. I’m the cheater, not you and to be fair. You don’t really understand my situation and I know you don’t remember the sex, but it was fucking awesome. Why shouldn’t we have some fun?” Kady said. There were a billion flaws in Kady’s logic and Julia wanted to desperately to be strong enough to deny Kady, but god, she wanted her. She was weak, and within minutes they were sneaking out of the bar, back to Julia’s apartment. 

 

Julia and Kady easily fell into a routine. On Friday nights, when Kady was performing, Julia would come and watch the show and once it was over they would leave together. Somehow Margo and Eliot still hadn’t picked up on what was going on, mostly because Margo usually left before Julia did and because Quentin had been great about distracting Eliot. Quentin had never asked her what was going on, but she was positive he’d figured it out by now, he just had the courtesy not to ask. 

When they left the bar they went to Julia’s place, had sex, and went to bed. When Julia woke up the next day, Kady was always gone. Julia knew no more about her than she had before they started having sex. She didn’t know her last name, she didn’t know how old she was, and she still knew nothing about her spouse. Julia wanted to ask her questions, but she was afraid she would be crossing some sort of line. There were unspoken rules in their relationship and she was pretty sure “no questions” was one of them, but on their fifth night spent together, Julia couldn’t get herself to fall asleep. 

“Are you awake?” Julia asked quietly.

“Yes.” 

“Can we talk?” 

“About what?” Kady rolled over to face Julia. Her hair was tousled and she looked tired.

“What’s your last name?” Kady sighed and laid flat on her back. 

“Orloff-Diaz.” She said calmly.

“Where are you from?”

“Bed-Stuy.”

“What’s your husband’s name? Or wife.” Julia asked, a fire burning inside her.

“I’m not answering that.”

“Do you love them?”

“What’s your fucking problem?” Kady asked with venom. It was silent in the bedroom and Julia didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell Kady her problem was that this wasn’t just sex to her, or at least she wishes it wasn’t just sex. Her problem was that she was losing sleep at night thinking of some person waiting for Kady to come home to them. 

“Why did you approach me? The first time, why?” Julia asked.

“You were gorgeous. I’d seen you before, but I’d never really looked at you until that night, and you just blew me away.” Kady said. It was tragically honest and the most open Kady had ever been.

“Do you just want me for sex? Do you want to know me as a person or am I just a warm body to you?” 

“You’re not just a warm body.” Kady said.

“Then what, Kady?” Julia asked. Julia felt like she was on a boat about to go right over the edge of a waterfall, not knowing if it was a ten foot drop or a thousand foot drop. 

“I don’t know, okay? When I’m on stage and I see you looking at me like I’m the only one in the room, I think about being with you, but I’m married for fucks sake. I can’t just drop everything for you. I don’t even know you.” Kady said. It was true they didn’t know each other, but there was a magnetic pull that Julia couldn’t ignore. She felt like the universe had pushed them together, only to place a brick wall right between them. Bricks fell though, and Julia could tear them down if she wanted. 

“My name’s Julia Wicker. I’m twenty-two and I have nothing about my life figured out. I’ve loved magic since I was ten years old and I used to be obsessed with the Fillory books. I’m a fake vegetarian, because I like chicken too much to give it up. I’ve lived in New York my whole life and I have no desire to leave and that first night when we met, it wasn’t my birthday. Eliot made that up so you would notice me because they were tired of watching me drool over you.” Julia said in dramatic, rom-com fashion. Kady seemed to be considering Julia’s small speech.

“You really drooled over me?” 

“Fuck off.”

 

When Julia woke up the next morning Kady was still in her bed. She was awake and staring at Julia in a way that would be creepy had Julia not been completely overcome with adoration instead. 

“My husband’s name is Penny. We’ve been married for a year and a half. I don’t know if I love him and I’m not sure if I ever did.” She said. This felt like progress. Towards what, Julia didn’t know, but Julia learned more about Kady in the last eight hours than she had in the previous month and half before. “Is that enough to satisfy you for now?” She asked. Julia gently grabbed her hand and smiled.

“Yes.”

 

They didn’t go on dates, they just hung out, and had sex afterwards. They finally exchanged phone numbers and started "hanging out” almost every weekend. Julia hated the fact she was the “other woman”, but when she was with Kady, it felt like it was worth it. Julia figured the fact she was female helped Kady disguise whatever it was they were as friendship and effectively hide it from her husband, but that didn’t work for Julia. One night at the bar, when Vines on Walls wasn’t performing, Kady texted her. Eliot, with his uncanny ability to snoop, saw her name pop up on Julia’s phone. 

“Did that just say Kady? Like, Vines on Walls Kady? Good singer, shitty band Kady?” He said, gradually gaining more energy. 

“No!” Julia answered in a tone that was much too defensive.

“Fuck me sideways! It did, didn’t it?” Margo said as she tried to grab Julia’s phone. 

“Are you fucking her? You’re fucking Kady aren’t you?” Eliot cried, overcome with joy.

“Can you shut the fuck up? She’s married, you can’t just yell that!” Julia said. 

“Julia, I’ll admit, I never thought you would actually talk to her, and now, you’re carrying out a full on affair. I feel like a proud father.” Eliot said.

“It’s nothing to be fucking proud about! It’s disgusting and wrong and I hate myself for it.” Julia knew that Eliot had loose morals, but there was no denying that this was a truly terrible thing Julia was participating in. Every night she hoped that Penny was a bad person because she felt so awful about what she was doing to him. “I’m ruining someone’s life.” No one at the table said a word. Every single person here had been apart of cheating at some point in their lives and Julia knew the Eliot liked to pretend it was a joke, but he hated himself for what he did too. That was how Eliot coped, by making everything into a laugh. Julia couldn’t blame him because her tactic of immersing herself in the guilt, was tearing her apart. 

 

The first time they slept together without actually sleeping together was on Julia’s actual birthday. Kady had joined Margo, Eliot and Quentin at their table with a cake and a smile on her face. Julia had to reassure Kady that they weren’t going to say anything about their relationship to anyone and that they wouldn’t be too big of dicks, before she agreed to spending the night with them.

“Finally, we get to formally meet Kady.” Eliot said with a smile.

“Kady, this is Eliot, Quentin, and Margo. Everyone, you already know Kady.” Julia said.

“Nice to meet you all.” Kady said. “Now, let’s light this cake.” She said. Kady pulled a box of candles and a lighter out of her coat pocket and lit them. They all sang her happy birthday, but Kady’s beautiful voice overpowered everyone else’s. Julia blew out her candles and thanked them. The bar wouldn’t give them any knives so, like a bunch of heathens, they all picked at the cake without slicing it. Then came the real fun, shots all around. Julia drank without reservation and Eliot matched her pace. 

“I’m just as good a singer as Kady. Listen ‘Quentin you are sooo beautiful. I can’t wait to have sex with you tonight.’” He sang loudly. 

“No, Kady is so much better.” Julia fought back. “Sing what he did, do it.” Julia demanded. 

“I’m not singing about having sex with Quentin.” Kady told her. Julia scoffed and yelled at the bartender for more drinks.

Margo had already gone off with her hook-up for the night when Quentin and Eliot left. Kady and Julia followed them out. Julia was having a hard time keeping on her feet and was leaning heavily on Kady. 

“Thanks for the cake.” Julia mumbled. 

“You’re welcome.” Kady said. She held Julia tightly and rubbed her arm soothingly. Julia couldn’t stop herself from bursting into tears. “What’s wrong?” Kady asked with concern.

“You’re so nice. And pretty. I can’t-I just can’t.” Julia cried. 

“Oh god, you’re so drunk.” Kady basically had to drag her up the stairs into her bedroom. She gently undressed her and helped her get into pajamas. 

“Thanks.” Julia sniffed and rubbed her eyes. Julia clumsily climbed under her covers and pulled Kady into the bed with her. “We gonna have sex now?” Julia mumbled.

“No, just go to bed, Jules.”

“Okay, night Kady. Sleep tight.” Julia wrapped herself around Kady’s waist and put her head under her arm.

“Night Julia.”

 

“I think you should tell Penny about us.” Julia told Kady one night after they had just had sex.

“Why would I do that?”

“Don’t you feel guilty? He deserves the truth.” 

“Penny is an asshole, but he loves me to a fault. It would destroy him to find out about this.” Kady said.

“So what? We’re just going to sneak around for the rest of our lives.” Julia asked bitterly.

“Why not?” 

“Because that would destroy me.”

 

Vines on Walls had gained enough notoriety at the bar to add a few Saturday night performances to their schedule. Kady had been extremely excited about it and Julia knew she had to go. Eliot, Margo, and Quentin were, of course, game, so the four of them sat at their usual table and had their drinks. Vines on Walls added a few songs that Julia hadn’t heard before, but overall it was their usual performance, with mixed in requests. At the end of their set Julia eagerly went to go find Kady behind the stage.

“Hey! Kady! That was a great show.” Julia said as she pushed her way through the crowd to get to her. Kady looked alarmed to see her.

“Julia, I didn’t see you out there. Listen, you need to-”

“Kady, you were amazing. You should invite me to your gigs more often.” A tall man said, interrupting Kady. “Who’s this?” He asked looking at Julia.

“Penny, this is my friend, Julia. Julia, this is my husband, Penny.” Kady introduced them, a look of discomfort masking her features.

“Julia, Kady’s mentioned you. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” He greeted her. He was much taller than Julia expected and she would be lying if she said he was anything, but beautiful. 

“Nice to meet you too.” Julia had never felt the shame of her relationship with Kady so sharply. Penny really was completely clueless to what was happening. She could no longer disconnect herself from Kady’s imaginary husband, because now he had a face. “I’m going to go back to my table, but um, good show tonight.” Julia said dismissively. She left before either of them could get another word in. Eliot, Margo and Quentin were all laughing when she got to the table and grabbed her coat.

“Where are you going?” Quentin said. Julia’s encounter with Penny was starting to catch up to her. She felt short of breath and hot. The bar was too crowded and Julia desperately needed to escape. She didn’t answer him and left through the back exit. The cold wind made her cheeks feel like the were being pricked by needles. She embraced the pain with open arms. Quentin followed after her with determination. “Jules, what’s wrong?” 

Tears were welling in her eyes. “I just met Kady’s husband.” She let a few cascade down her cheeks and desperately wiped her eyes. Quentin didn’t offer her and comfort. “I need to end it. I can’t be this person. I can’t do this to someone.” She said. 

“Do you love her?” He asked. Julia laughed cruelly. 

“I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“I love Eliot. I wish Alice didn’t have to get hurt for us to find each other, but I would do it again if I had to.” Quentin answered. “If you think you might love her, it does matter.”

“Am I a bad person?” Julia asked him. Quentin would tell her the truth.

“No, but you’re doing a bad thing.”

 

She didn’t hear from Kady again until the following Friday. Julia almost didn’t go to the bar, but she needed to talk to Kady. Quentin was right, she was doing something wrong, and she needed to end it. She was prepared to offer Kady an ultimatum. Julia purposefully sat away from Eliot, Margo, and Quentin. It would be too easy for Kady to ignore her if she was with them, but if she sat alone at the bar Kady would come, she was sure of that. When the music in the bar stopped, Kady was at her side ten minutes later.

‘“Julia, I’m so sorry about last Saturday. I didn’t know you were coming and if I did I would have warned you.”

“It’s okay. It actually made me think about some things.” Julia told her. Kady didn’t say anything, obviously waiting for Julia to elaborate. “This, you and me, this isn’t who I am. I can’t go on sneaking around behind Penny’s back. I can’t be second best in your life. This has to end Kady.” Julia said. 

“Julia, please, you’re not the second best.” Kady said. 

“Then prove it. If you really want to be with me, then you have to tell Penny, you have to come clean.” Kady took a long drink from her glass and sighed. “Until then, me and you are over.” 

“I know it’s selfish, but I want both of you.” Kady said. 

“Well you can’t have both of us. Neither one of us deserves that.” Julia said. “You have my number, let me know what you decide.” Julia told her. Kady gave a quick nod and Julia walked home alone from the bar for the first time in months. 

 

Julia skipped Vines on Walls’ performance Friday night. She knew that if she really wanted to show Kady she was serious she needed to stay away from her. She thought that she had successfully avoided her, but there was a sharp knock on her door at midnight that could really only belong to one person. Julia opened the door to see Kady standing there with an angry look on her face. 

“Why weren’t you at the bar tonight?” She asked. 

“I told you we were done until you told Penny.” Julia said.

“You don’t have to cut me out of your life. It’s going to take time to decide. This is a big deal.”

“I know, and you should take your time, but you should make this decision on your own.” Julia said. 

“You’re acting like you don’t even care what I choose. Do you?” Kady said with rage in her voice.

“Of course I care! All I want is for you to be with me, but I don’t want to end up like Penny either.” Julia responded, matching her anger. Kady’s body language showed her concession.

“Just give me some time.” Kady said. Julia nodded and without anymore words Kady left her apartment.

 

As the days went by, Julia’s patience grew thinner and thinner. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster, slowly ticking up the first hill waiting for the rush of coming down, but having no idea when it was coming. She’d been trying to convince herself that everything would work itself out. Kady wasn’t in love with Penny and there was clearly something there between her and Kady. Whatever it may be, it was something that couldn’t be denied. Julia had never felt so strongly about another person and she couldn’t help but believe that she deserved her happy ending. She pictured Kady coming to her door and kissing her dramatically, confessing her love to Julia. When Kady did come to her apartment she stood solemnly outside her door. 

“Can I come in?” She asked. Julia stepped aside and let her into the room. Kady faced away from her and was swaying with nerves. 

“Just say it.” Julia told her. She couldn’t read Kady’s body language at all. She soft sniff told Julia she was crying and her stomach twisted.

“I’m sorry, Julia. I can’t do this. I choose him. I choose Penny.” She said. Julia wanted to fight with Kady, to scream and tell her she was wrong. This wasn’t how their story was supposed to end, they were supposed to get their happy ending and Kady was being stupid and taking it away from them. 

“Why?” Was all she could muster. 

“He’s my husband.” Kady said as if it were actually that simple. 

“That doesn’t mean shit!” Julia screamed. “Relationships should be based off feelings, not a stupid court document.” 

“Do you love me?” Kady asked. God, she was infuriating. 

“Does it matter?” She asked. She was brought back to the night she met Penny and she asked Quentin the same question.

“Yes.” 

“If I said yes, would you choose me?” Julia asked. Kady hesitated.

“No.”

“So it doesn’t matter. Love doesn’t matter. It isn’t enough.” Julia shoved her anger away and replaced it with honesty. “I do love you.” 

“Then spend this night with me. One more time.” She begged. Julia knew she wouldn’t say no to this request, but she wanted to, more than anything. She didn’t say a word, she just let her body speak for her. All it took was a small step towards Kady and they were embracing each other. Julia could feel tears on Kady’s face as they kissed. 

This was their encore. They'd done their performance and it was extraordinary, but now all they had left was an ending. It was dramatic and beautiful and devastating, but they were past the point of no return. They would sing their hearts out one last time and drown themselves in the applause. Tomorrow it would be like it never happened.

 

When the morning sun woke Julia, Kady was gone.


End file.
